This Ferrari-Powered Lotus Is My New Favorite Hillclimb Car

With 925 horsepower and more aero than we can keep track of, this Lotus is a true weapon on wheels.

Photo by: YouTube

By: Brian Silvestro

Feb 23, 2025 at 12:00pm ET

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Hillclimb cars are the coolest. Usually, hillclimb events have no restrictions on power or aerodynamics, so builders chuck as much downforce and boost into their cars as physically possible. That results in some truly wacky machinery, like this Ferrari-powered Lotus that looks like more wing than car.

The car you see here started off as a normal Lotus Exige. But it's been slowly evolved by owner Dawie Joubert into the ferocious creature you see here. There are acres of bodywork meant to improve airflow, covering a twin-turbo V-8 engine sourced from a Ferrari 488 GTB—a far cry from the original car's Toyota four-cylinder.

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The car has been tuned to 925 horsepower and 663 pound-feet of torque—far more than the Ferrari's engine originally made. There's a quick-shifting paddle-actuated transmission, getting power to the rear wheels. But there isn't much else. With a curb weight of just 2,259 pounds, this Lotus is lighter than a Miata.

Unsurprisingly, the Ferrari-powered Lotus is incredibly quick. Video published by the Hillclimb Monsters YouTube channel shows the car barreling up the (very bumpy) Simola Hillcimb event held last May in South Africa at lightning speed, winning its class and coming just one second behind the best time of the day, set by a single-seat open wheeler.